(Updates throughout; refreshes prices at 0900 GMT)

By Amanda Cooper

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) -

Global shares held around record highs on Thursday,

supported by investor confidence in the prospect of a drop in

U.S. interest rates this year, which also boosted gold, while

the pound held steady ahead of a

Bank of England

meeting later in the day.

The Swiss National Bank cut interest rates for a second time

this year, which knocked the Swiss franc ,

while Norway's Norges Bank left rates unchanged, as expected.

Next up is the BoE, which is also expected to leave UK

interest rates unchanged, but may offer a steer on what to

expect later this year.

The MSCI All-World index was broadly steady

at 805.19, having marked another record high on Wednesday, when

U.S. markets were closed for a public holiday.

In Europe, the STOXX 600 rose 0.4% in early

trading, lifted by positive sentiment around the tech sector.

In currencies, the pound was steady at $1.27125

in cautious trading but is down 0.2% in June.

Data on Wednesday showed British inflation returned to the

central bank's 2% target for the first time in nearly three

years in May, but strong underlying price pressures all but rule

out an interest rate cut ahead of next month's election.

Most economists in a Reuters poll last week thought the

central bank would start to cut rates in August. But markets see

only a 30% chance of an August rate cut and think a first move

is more likely in September or November.

Futures markets show traders have priced in 43 basis points

of easing from the BoE this year.

"High and persistent service inflation has been a persistent

vex for the BoE and expect to hear about it during their press

conference today," Caxton strategist David Stritch said.

"We still feel that this is a bank that wanted to cut

six months ago and fully expect an implication of a cut in

August, with the door open for more to come after," he said.

The euro, which hit its lowest against the

pound in nearly two years last week, was last down 0.1% at 84.36

pence. The single European currency was also down 0.1% against

the dollar at $1.0717.

In Asia, the onshore yuan weakened past 7.26

per dollar for the first time since November after the Chinese

central bank left its key benchmark lending rates unchanged

despite recent data showing the economy remains wobbly.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency

against six others, was little changed at 105.27.

Gold, which tends to perform well in an environment

of lower rates, was up 0.3% at $2,333 an ounce, having touched

its highest since the start of June earlier on.

A surge in tech stocks on Tuesday lifted AI chipmaker Nvidia ( NVDA )

above Microsoft ( MSFT ) as the world's most valuable

company, leading to a global rally in tech shares.

With U.S. markets closed for a holiday on Wednesday,

stock futures were in the green on Thursday, with those on the

tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperforming, up 0.7% compared

with a 0.4% rise in S&P 500 futures.

"Nvidia ( NVDA ) remains the most important stock in the world,"

Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said in a note.

Weston though cautioned that index market breadth has been

poor, with participation underwhelming, suggesting the rally has

been built on a shaky foundation.

"The fact remains the market is now all in on the rally in

AI-related names and big tech and given the lack of clear

immediate risk the path of least resistance is for higher equity

index levels."

On a macro level, investors are looking for fresh cues as to

when the Federal Reserve would start its policy easing cycle

after the central bank last week projected just one rate cut in

the year and policymakers this week have also been cautious.

The Japanese yen reached its weakest level against

the dollar since late April on Thursday, reaching 158.44. Much

of the decline in the value of the currency has been the product

of the wide gap between Japanese and U.S. interest rates.

In commodities, oil prices rose, with Brent up 0.4%

at $85.38 a barrel, while U.S. crude for August delivery

was up 0.15% at $80.83.